Dennis M. Israelski

Dennis M. Israelski, M.D. is the Head of Medical Affairs for Global Patient Solutions at Gilead Sciences, where he leads the public health, medical and scientific support for more than 120 countries in Africa, South East and Central Asia, East Europe, Caribbean and Central America.

He is an expert in clinical infectious diseases and global public health with a long track record of commitment to delivery of high-quality health care to vulnerable populations around the world. He founded the Palo Alto VA AIDS program and was the first Medical Director of the San Mateo County AIDS program after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine in 1988. As a pioneer clinician-investigator, over the next 20 years, he implemented public health models for prevention, care, post-doctoral education and research to benefit people and communities affected by HIV/AIDS, sexually-transmitted infections, TB, and viral hepatitis on the San Francisco Peninsula.

Dr. Israelski has held key leadership roles in ground-breaking NGOs including: Trustee on the Founding Board of Directors of AIDS Empowerment and Treatment International (AIDSETI), which was among the first community-driven organizations to treat people living with HIV in 15 countries in Africa and Caribbean. As Chief Medical Officer of the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, among other programmatic responsibilities, he provided technical assistance to governments in Ghana, Zimbabwe and Cambodia. As CEO of Innovative Solutions to Diseases and Disasters (InSTEDD)— an organization founded by a TED prize— he led efforts to design and develop digital technologies for better detection and response to health events in Africa, South and Southeast Asia,  including to mitigate effects epidemics (and potential pandemics) at their source.

He served as (affiliate) Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he was a popular teacher and mentor for postdoctoral fellows until 2017. Over the past 30 years, he has amassed a significant track record of publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at top-tier international conferences. His research and program achievements, over the course of his career in Infectious diseases and public health, range from basic science of immune-protozoology to translational studies in viral diseases and opportunistic infections, (hundreds of) clinical drug trials, public health informatics, health policy research, digital health innovation, implementation science and clinical reviews.